Chomsky decides to lecture via video

Noam Chomsky lectured to Birzeit University students via video conference from Amman May 18 shortly after he was denied entry into Israel and the West Bank.

Chomsky, 81, an American Jewish linguist who is a fierce critic of Israeli and American policies, was detained May 16 for four hours by Israeli security officials at the Allenby Bridge entry point from Jordan. The professor emeritus from MIT was to deliver a lecture at Birzeit University near Ramallah, in the West Bank.

Though Israeli media have reported that Chomsky would likely have been allowed into Israel had he tried to cross again at Allenby, he decided not to try, believing that Israeli officials were “playing games,” the Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported May 18.

His video conference lecture also was broadcast live on Al Jazeera television, according to Ha’aretz. Some 100 students packed a room at Birzeit University to watch the lecture, which had been scheduled for May 17.

Ynet reported that Chomsky was told he was refused entry due to his political opinions, by order of senior Interior Ministry officials. “This very unusual behavior only happens in totalitarian states,” Chomsky told Al Jazeera.

Sabine Hadad, a spokeswoman from the Interior Ministry, told the Jerusalem Post that the decision to deny Chomsky entry was a “misunderstanding,” the newspaper reported May 16.

Chomsky is one of Israel’s harshest academic critics. After the 2009 war in Gaza, he was quoted as saying, “supporters of Israel are in reality supporters of its moral degeneration.”  — jta & ap